Too many people refrain from cooking delicious, nutritious dried beans because the preparation—soaking the beans—seems like too much trouble.
It couldn’t be easier! And you may not have to soak them overnight: The fresher the beans, the more moisture they retain so less soaking is required.
As you’ll see in this video, all you need to do is:
1. The video is missing an important first step: Rinse the beans in a collander under cold running water.
2. Sort through the beans and pick out any broken ones, plus extraneous matter such as the occasional pebble.
3. Place the beans in a bowl or pot to soak: 2 cups cold water per one cup beans.
4. When the beans grow larger in size and can be chewed, strain the beans from the water. You’re ready to cook!
FOOD TRIVIA: Lima beans have been cultivated in Peru since 6000 B.C.E. Their common name comes from Lima, Peru’s capital city. That makes the correct pronounciation LEE-mah beans, not LYE-muh beans. But who’s going to correct the American public?
Fresh lychee (pronounced LIE-chee, not LEE-chee, after the Cantonese lai chi) is now coming into season. Take the time to seek out this wonderfully exotic fruit. Delicately sweet, beautifully aromatic and very juicy, this subtropical fruit is native to Southeast Asia.
The small fruits, up to 1.5 inches in diameter, have a thin skin that is light pink to deep red in color. Inside is a translucent white fruit—in our opinion, one of the delights of the fruit kingdom.
Lychee is also known as a Chinese Cherry, although it’s not related to the cherry—the lychee tree is an evergreen. It’s also called a lychee nut, but it’s not a nut: It gets that name from its large pit, which looks like a nut. That’s also why it’s called a Chinese cherry—after you enjoy the succulent fruit, you need to dispose of the pit.
A fresh lychee. Photo by A.R. Nowsser | CSP.
You’ll also find alternative spellings, such as litchi and litchee.
You can find canned lychee year-round, and they’re enjoyable. But as with canned peaches, pineapple and other fruits, the fresh version is even more special.
If you can’t find fresh lychees locally (look in produce specialty stores and Asian markets), you can buy them online from Melissa’s.
In Asia, the lychee is usually served by itself for dessert, or combined with other fresh fruits. That’s a terrific way to enjoy them; but the only limit is your imagination. Try these recipes:
Lychees are a good source of vitamin C and phosphorus. They should not be peeled until just before they are served. Remove the peel and the black pit (seed). When cooking with lychees, add them at the last minute to maintain the most flavor and aroma.
As lychees age off the vine, the reddish-pink color turns brown—still fine to eat, but a bit less moist. To keep lychees fresh, wrap them in a paper towel and store in a perforated plastic bag in the produce drawer.
Take a seat in the classroom and earn an MBA in food and wine. Photo courtesy University of Bologna.
Want a business career in the food and wine industry?
Start with an MBA in Food & Wine, given for the first time by the Alma Graduate School of Business at the University of Bologna, in Italy.
The one-year intensive program is taught in Engish.
Why Italy? According to the school’s website, the food and wine industries worldwide seek managers to capitalize on global market opportunities. Italy has developed a specific knowledge in this field.
The Food and Wine concentration focuses on the most successful Italian enterprises in the gastronomy and enology sectors, drawing upon Italy’s rich tradition, successful practices and quality of its products.
Ten full scholarships are available; the application deadline is July 15th and the program begins in September 2011. A minimum of two years of business experience is required.
Even people who live in apartments with small kitchens can brew craft beer.
Beer-making kits, developed by the Brooklyn Brew Shop, make it easy for anyone to brew delicious beer at home.
It’s a gift any beer lover would like: the ability to experience first-hand what it takes to make a delicious brew.
The kit includes the finest barley, hops, yeast and spices, plus step-by-step instructions. You’ll see how easy it is to craft an all-natural home brew that’s as good as artisanal beers served at the best brew pubs.
Choose either fresh, light summer wheat beer or India Pale Ale (IPA), known for its bold, hops-intensive flavor. (Or why choose? Brew both!)
Now, BYO means brew your own! Make premium craft beer in your kitchen. Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.
The kit includes specialty equipment and ingredients needed for home-brewing, including grain, hops and yeast.
You supply the additional equipment and ingredients: a six-quart pot, fine-mesh strainer, funnel, honey and ice.
The kit produces one gallon of beer.
The equipment can be reused over and over to make more beer. It’s easy to purchase additional grain, hops and yeast to make your next batch.
The craft brewing kit is available from Williams-Sonoma. One kit is $39.95.
The entire brewing process takes about 17 days. If you start now, you can brew Dad or Hubby his own batch as a Father’s Day gift.
Asparagus: now in season, but not for long! Photo courtesy California Asparagus Commission.
Like the idea of eating seasonal produce grown on local farms, but wonder what’s in season in your area?
Climates in the U.S. vary widely. What’s seasonal in California isn’t the same as what’s seasonal in New York or Indiana.
But there’s an easy search tool to find out exactly what’s in season in your locavore universe. Just head to SimpleSteps.org and select your state.
The website will also tell you where all your local farmers markets are, and even include directions by car, bike, walking and public transit.
SimpleSteps.org is a great resource that covers all smarter living topics, including household savings calculators and conservation tips for people who care about the planet. For example:
If a quarter of the households in the United States replaced one incandescent with one compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), it would save as much carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas that impacts climate change) as planting 257,215 acres of forest. (All plants absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis; forests absorb a large amount of it.)
OK, we’ve been lazy about switching all of our light bulbs to CFL, but now we’re on it.
Don’t like the light from CFLs? The site advises looking for bulbs with a Kelvin temperature between 3,000k and 3,500k. They give off the familiar warm glow of incandescent bulbs.
